But I came to talk about the draft...spinning a new fiber.

[fabricdragon]

I got my samples from South West Trading Company today...

(They make SOYSILK® brand soy fiber yarn and spinning fiber, among other things.)

I had requested a sample of their "Black Diamond Fiber” which is a carbonized bamboo fiber.  I know this doesn’t sound very nice, but what it means is that it is a beautiful silvery steel grey fiber, with a bit

Comments

Yarn

[fabricdragon]

They have a 100% bamboo fiber yarn already. It is not the carbonized form, but is still a darn nice yarn. available in a sport weight, about28? colors, some solid some shaded.. for roughly $13.00 per ball (with the usual "buy the bag" discount) and also available in a sock yarn, mixed with some nylon.. but i dont have how many colors or price handy.

Commercially it is used in socks (available at Target, among other places) that are naturally odor absorbing/ anti bacterial because thats just what this fiber does.

Its a nice yarn. I have done a small amount of knitting with the basic bamboo yarn, it shows stitch definition well, and feels like ...well, the sample i knit up, in a basic stockinette, sort of felt like cotton, but sort of felt silky...
i am looking forward to when they have the yarn in the carbonized form, because i have spun both fibers and prefer this new stuff. so if the yarn is also that much of an improvement, and i already like the old yarn...wow!

Re: Yarn

[fabricdragon]

will do!
But seriously, if you get a good spindle this stuff spins up nicely enough that i think even a beginner should get good yarn from it.
Bring your spin stuff, maybe i can help you! or maybe you are just using the wrong-for-you fiber. there are fibers that other folks spin fine, that i can't spin worth a cat toy.